Danse Macabre

Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death (2003) - Full Album

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• published: 17 Mar 2016
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Setlist: 01 - Wlidest Dreams 0:04 02 - Rainmaker 3:56 03 - No More Lies 7:43 04 - Montsegur 15:05 05 - Dance Of Death 20:55 06 - Gates Of Tomorrow 29:31 07 - New Frontier 34:43 08 - Paschendale 39:48 09 - Face In The sand 48:16 10 - Age Of Innocence 54:47 11 - The Journeyman 1:00:57 Iron Maiden have been one of my favourite bands for a long time, on of the first metal bands i got into and i've never gone off them. I decided to review this album first as it was the one i listened to most recently. i love Brave New World, the album that really got me into Maiden and so i had high hopes for this follow up. This isn't as good as BNW but is better than the 2 albums they've done since. I'd say BNW is as good if not better than the 80's classics, whereas i'd put this album somewhere in the middle, better than the 90's albums at least. This is the only Maiden album with writing contributions from every member, even Nicko gets in on the act! Maiden always had a progressive edge but it was usually restricted to just one or 2 tracks per album. This album is probably where the progressive side starts to come out more. The title track and 'Paschendale' being prime examples. There's even an all-acoustic track, the colossal 'Journeyman' to close the album. The electric version of this track is on the 'No More Lies' EP but i think i prefer the acoustic version. Speaking of 'No More Lies', what a great track. The chorus is a little repetitive but all is forgiven when the Three Amigos let rip with 3 exceptional solos to top off an already excellent track. The opening 2 songs were the first singles and they sound like typical Maiden singles. Short, catchy choruses, great solos. Business as usual then. 'Montsegur' is heavy, but Bruce sounds slightly strained on this one. Title track is weird and wonderful (typical Jannick song). The next 2 tracks sound like regular Maiden tracks, solid but not spectacular. I can forgive them this so far into their career, it's amazing they can even come up with so many fresh new ideas at this stage. 'Paschendale' is a long, almost symphonic epic about a nasty chapter of World War 1 with a weird Adrian Smith intro. Great stuff! There is an orchestral version on the EP i mentioned earlier. 'Face in the Sand' sounds like they've already done this before but 'Age of Innocence' is another brilliant song with a strong chorus. Then the aforementioned 'Journeyman' closes the album. So we've got 2 excellent singles, 4 great epics and a few tracks i don't want to label as filler so we'll just call them solid album tracks. Not a bad effort really. Musical performances are typically great, you wouldn't expect or accept anything less from Iron Maiden really. Sadly this was the last album where Bruce sounded truly at the top of his game for the majority of the album, but even a decade after this album he's still vastly superior to the majority of singers out there. Recommended if you like the more dense, progressive side of Maiden. Steve Harris – (Bass, Keyboard, Backing Vocals) Dave Murray – (Guitar) Adrian Smith – (Guitar, Backing Vocals) Bruce Dickinson – (Vocal) Nicko McBrain – (Drums) Janick Gers – (Guitar)